‘Delhiwala’ Malawi president arriving on six-day visit

NEW DELHI - Malawi President Bingu Wa Mutharika, who has spent many years as a student in Delhi and describes himself as a “Delhiwala”, will be arriving here Tuesday on a six-day visit.

Mutharika will arrive Tuesday with a high-level delegation and hold talks with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh Wednesday, after which a number of agreements are expected to be signed. President Pratibha Patil will hold a formal state banquet in his honour Wednesday evening.

He will also have an interaction with top Indian businessmen at a luncheon Wednesday.

The visit comes after Vice President Mohammad Hamid Ansari had gone to Malawi in January this year. In his speech at the banquet in honour of Ansari, Mutharika had described himself as a product of India and described himself as a Delhiwala. He had completed his graduation and masters degree from Delhi University in the 1960s.

The Delhi School of Economics will be conferring an honorary doctorate on the visiting Malawi president.

Besides Delhi, Mutharika will also be travelling to the tourist hotspots of Agra and Goa. He will leave India Nov 8 early morning.